Escaping the Environmental Crises: Online Escape Rooms for Evaluating Student Data Analysis Skills

Summative lab assessments probe student mastery over concepts, but conventional ones often result in decreased student engagement and confidence. If conventional summative lab assessments are replaced by accessible gamified evaluations, such as online escape rooms, this leads to improved student engagement and confidence. In this work, we adapted two sustainability themed online escape room activities to increase student engagement and confidence in data analyses in Integrated Chemistry I (CHEM 381) over three semesters at CSU, Chico. Over 89.7% of students earned full credit. Further, 80.0% of the written comments included positive feedback. After the online escape room assessments, 60.0% of the students rated their confidence as “high” or “very high” in all categories assessed, compared to 25.6% before the experience. Students found that the online escape room assessments were more engaging than the traditional assessment and increased their confidence as they worked toward solving two sustainability crises and competed for the quickest time to complete the escape rooms.


Timeline of Virtual Escape Room Activities
Table S1.Proposed timeline of when to implement online escape room assessment during a 16-week academic semester.The virtual escape room activities provided a preview of data and analysis types that students were expected to include in their final group presentations and individual final scientific paper.

Weeks
Group Project

Troubleshooting Notes to Instructor
There are a few logistical issues that the instructor should keep in mind to successfully execute these virtual escape rooms.First, there may be times where multiple groups requesting hints at the same time in breakout rooms on a virtual platform like Zoom.One instructor may not be able to address their questions simultaneously or in a timely manner, so to address this, appoint 1-2 experienced student assistants who have completed the virtual escape rooms in prior semesters to assist on days that the virtual escape room assessment is administered.Second, there was not a timer on the Google Forms sheets to track how much time passed during the activity.To overcome this challenge, make sure to release the link to the Google Form escape room at the same time to ensure start times are the same for each breakout group.Google Forms timestamps the submission of the form when students complete the entire assessment.Students may monitor their time by using a timer on their watch or cell phone.

How to Play Virtual Escape Room Activities
Scheme S1.Flow chart of the escape room process for assessing a student group's data analysis proficiency.Though this is the schematic used in the energy crisis virtual escape room activity, many parts of it are comparable in the water decontamination crisis virtual escape room activity.
Room 1: Spectroscopic Data Analysis Assessment objective: Evaluate the group's knowledge of interpreting different spectra.Puzzle: The students analyzed the UV-Vis absorption, fluorescence, and infrared spectra of different nanomaterials used for solving the sustainability crises.For example, they evaluated the absorption pattern of two nanomaterials (e.g.perovskites) to determine if they were adequate semiconductors that would be useful for developing high efficiency solar cells.The students would then be able to solve the energy crisis.After examining the perovskites' absorption patterns in Figure S1, they used the absorption onset wavelength ( ) in Equation S1.
λ Correct calculation of the E g allowed the students to proceed to Room 2 (Figure S5).Incorrect answers would cause them to remain in the same section.Puzzle: The groups were given XRD data to determine structural information about the nanomaterials.For example, to evaluate how far a reaction progressed from starting reagent (lead iodide) to final product (methylammonium lead iodide perovskite) teams had to identify the peaks at 12.5°and 13.9°as originating from lead iodide and perovskite, respectively.Upon evaluating four different XRD spectra (Figure S2), students identified the temperature at which the lead iodide peak is no longer present.Finally, the students used Bragg's law (Equation S2) to predict where the third order peak (n = 3) would appear in degrees, based on the wavelength ( ), interplanar spacing of crystals (d), and angle at which diffraction peaks occur ( ).Upon all λ θ correct answers, the group would proceed to Room 3 (pp.S8).Puzzle: Students used SEM images to conduct a morphological data analysis of the nanomaterials.For instance, the students were provided with SEM data in which two different anti-solvents were used to promote crystallization of perovskites (Figure S3).Students need to choose the anti-solvent that produces higher crystalline materials.Input of all correct answers would allow the groups to proceed to Room 4 (pp.S9-S12).S2.They also needed to rationalize why there were extra elements that did not belong in the composition of the nanomaterial.Once they chose the correct answers, the group would proceed to Room 5 (pp.S13).

Table S2. EDXS Results
Room 5: Performance Data Analysis Assessment objective: Assess the groups' abilities to evaluate the performance data of the given nanomaterials.Puzzle: Students were provided with electrical performance data (Lab 1).To demonstrate their understanding of this data analysis, students utilized Equation S3 to calculate the average efficiency of the sample cells given.Upon correct input of the average efficiency, the group proceeded forward and resolved the energy crisis.Equation S3.Equation for calculating electrical efficiency ( ): V oc is the open circuit voltage.I sc η is the short circuit current, FF is the fill factor and P is the input power.

Figure S1 .
Figure S1.UV-Vis spectra the student groups analyzed in room 1, comparing FAPbI 3 and MAPbI 3 .This is the solid-state absorbance pattern of each perovskite material, from which students derive band gap information from Equation S1.

Figure S2 .
Figure S2.XRD that was to be analyzed by students in Room 2.

Figure S3 .
Figure S3.SEM provided for students to analyze crystallinity in Room 3.

Figure S4 .
Figure S4.Renewable Energy Crisis Escape Room Google Form screenshot.

Figure S7 .
Figure S7.Sample pre-and post-activity confidence level questions.

Figure S9 .
Figure S9.Incorrect escape room "codes" yield error messages, preventing users from proceeding to the next page, or "room" of the escape room.